Iran and UAE do not publish timely trade statistics, but, their exports are visible in large part from trading partner import statistics. For Iran, these show a drop in polyethylene exports through August 2020 and dependence on a limited number of markets; for UAE, these show export growth and a broader range of markets.

Iran exported 1.5 million tons of ethylene polymers (all grades) through August 2020, down 18% from the same period in 2019 based on import statistics from nearly 100 countries. Two markets, China and Turkey, accounted for more than 95% of the total. China imported 1.3 million tons YTD, down 20%. Turkey was nearly the only growth market for Iranian polymer, volume up 35%, to 121,000 tons. Many other markets registered steep declines.

UAE exports of polyethylene generally trended higher from mid-2019 through August 2020, volume at 1.9 million tons August YTD, up 11%. The top two markets, China and India, accounted for about 75% of the total. In contrast to Iran, China imported higher volumes from UAE, 1.2 million tons, up 26%. Imports into India from UAE fell 3%, to 263,000 tons. Several other sizable markets reported higher volumes from UAE.

From International Trader Publications’ All Polymers of Ethylene World Trade Report, a continuously updated analysis of polyethylene (all grades combined) global trade between countries and regions based on ITP’s database of 100 countries.